Picture Frame Craft

Everyone remembers their all-time favorite teacher. Mine was Miss Jett. I became a student in her third grade classroom in the middle of the school year when my dad changed jobs and we moved. I can still remember the day my family walked into the school. The principal took us to the fourth grade classroom to meet my brother’s teacher. Then to the first grade classroom to meet my sister’s teacher. The last stop was Miss Jett’s room. She was super friendly and so welcoming. She hugged me. She looked at her students and said, “Good news class, we have a great kid joining our team. This is Tracey. Try to remember her name. Tracey, these are your new friends.” She laughed and said, “ Try to remember their names.” She had them sound off, one at a time, “Hi Tracey. My name is ____.”

On my second day in Miss Jett’s class, she asked me to come to the front of the room. “Look class, it’s the new girl. If you know her name, shout it out.” They all shouted my name. Miss Jett looked at me, “Now it’s your turn. How many of these kids’ names do you know?” She instructed her students to stand when they heard their name. I started with Bob and Bill. They were my neighbors. Then I continued, “Brad, David, Sam, John, Mark…” Miss Jett was laughing, “You only know the names of the boys?” I was embarrassed, but I’ve always been good with names. I looked at my new teacher and continued to speak, “Julie, Roxie, Sally, Kathy, Barb…” By now, most of the students were standing. Miss Jet was clearly impressed.

She was the first teacher who believed in me. She treated me like I was special; like I mattered. But that wasn’t the only reason she was my favorite teacher. She was also the master of making learning fun. She planned lessons that were hands-on. She involved the class in her lectures – lectures that sometimes included food samples. It was fun to go to school!

The back corner of Miss Jett’s classroom was a cool little hideaway. We were allowed to go back there when our work was done. The hideaway had bookshelf walls. The shelves were filled with books and puzzles and games. Miss Jett had created most of the games. I loved the games! There was also a box of colorful laminated story cards with comprehension questions. Miss Jett challenged us to read as many of the story cards as we could. She had a chart on the wall where we marked each card we’d read. I didn’t really like to read, but I read a ton of those stories because I liked coloring in the squares on the chart. The hideaway also had a globe, a world map, and a flashcard game about states and capitals. There was a chalkboard so you could practice your writing. The very best thing was the science area with an aquarium and a terrarium. Because Miss Jett lived on a farm, we often had live animals in the classroom. The animals weren’t always confined to the hideaway corner. Once in awhile Miss Jett brought in a baby kitten that got to wander around the classroom. We were allowed to pick it up and bring it to the hideaway when our seat work was completed. On the days the kitten was in the room, I finished my seat work in record time!

By the end of the school year, Miss Jett knew me well. When the baby snakes crawled out of the science lab terrarium and got stuck to the tape on the bulletin board, Miss Jett knew I was the snake-loving student who would gladly free them from their sticky nightmare and return them to their habitat. She made a big deal of how well I completed the task.

On the very last day of school, Miss Jett told us how much she’d enjoyed having us as students. She was so proud of us. She wished she could be our teacher forever; or at least for another year. Then Miss Jett said she had an announcement, “Guess what? I’m moving.” A big gasp of disappointment rose up from her devoted fans. “Oh, let me finish that sentence. I’m moving to fourth grade. We’ll all be together again next year.” “HURRAY!!!”

This web frame activity is something Miss Jett taught in a lesson about how to use a ruler. She had us use our ruler to draw a capital L. Then she asked us to mark every half inch on the L. We had to connect the dots from the vertical line to the horizontal line. It created a neat Op Art piece. Click “WEB FRAME” to get the instructions and template for this craftivity.

ABOUT ME

A big imagination and a learning disability were my motivation to create unique teaching materials for all types of learners. I’ve been a teacher all my life; from my early childhood years as the self-appointed neighborhood activities coordinator, to my degree in elementary education, to the classroom, as a mom, a coach, a mentor, and a school volunteer. My brain is constantly working on the best way to present information. I want it to be fun, interesting, and memorable.